Finnish broadcaster denies Kovalainen link

Heikki Kovalainen

(GMM) The sports boss for the Finnish F1 broadcaster MTV3 has denied rumors it might not have shown grands prix to Finnish viewers had Heikki Kovalainen not signed a contract to race in 2010.

With Kimi Raikkonen moving to rallying, it was rumored that if compatriot Kovalainen had also been missing from next year's grid, MTV3 might have scaled back or ended its agreement with formula one.

"Finnish participation and success is of course important, but it's not critical," said MTV3's head of sports Tatu Lehmuskallio.

"Kovalainen's three-year contract is a good thing, but our agreement (with F1) and his contract are not at all connected," he added.